Rasmalai

It is everyone’s favourite. From superstar Shahrukh Khan to Sunita Williams the astronaut. If you have attended elite destination weddings lately, you cannot miss the fact that the Indian super-rich love this dessert more than probably any other. There is something really special about the Rasmalai. This soft, spongy cottage cheese dumpling soaked in a creamy, sweetened milk sauce, flavoured with cardamom, saffron, and rose water, is not just a favourite in India, but rules the roost in Bangladesh and among the worldwide Indian Diaspora. The delicate texture and the smoothness of creamy flavour mark it as a distinct offering.

The trick of a great Rasmalai is in its subtlety; it cannot be either overly sweet or spongy. It has to be bitten into, but as soon as you bite it, it has to melt right away! A perfect balance of sweetness and richness that is not easy to achieve, especially given that the texture that holds it all together has to be the perfect velvet. It is a light dessert, unlike most Indian sweets that are overloaded and heavy. Dhiman Das, proprietor of K.C. Das, the legendary, nearly 100-year-old sweetshop in Calcutta, elaborates, “The special aspect about the Rasmalai is the softness of the chhena. This takes a delicate touch and patience. The subtle fragrance of saffron adds that special aroma. The syrup or the milk in which the chhena balls are dipped should be very light and consistent. The chhena should be very smoothly kneaded without any grains at all.”